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Follow beer writer, Troy Burtch, as he explores the wonderful world of craft beer and the pubs that serve it. Great Canadian Beer is a place to come to catch up on beer news, read tasting notes, check out event listings, and for pub previews and reviews.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Cask Days Welcomes Hopfenstark and Dieu Du Ciel

Volo Cask Days is a phenomenal three day event that has gained increased popularity since Ralph Morana held the first one four years ago. Ontario breweries continue to raise the bar by producing a number of one-offs and speciality beers strictly for the event, and again, this year will feature a number of bold creations that are sure to capture the attention and admiration of the true beer fans and beer raters. “Year after year the men and women of Ontario continue to impress me with their creativity,” stated Morana.

There will also be a number of Quebec beers to compliment the onslaught of participating breweries from Ontario as Morana has confirmed that 2 casks from Dieu du Ciel will be available along with a small keg from the outstanding Quebec brewery Hopfenstark.

Dieu du Ciel will be sending casks of their Penombre black IPA and Vaisseau Des Songs IPAwhile a cask conditioned keg of Postcolonial IPA will be sent by Hopfenstark.

Drooling yet? “There’s more,” says Morana.

Dieu du Ciel will also be represented with fresh kegs of their Péché Mortel, Rigor Mortis (not sure which one) and Corne du diable IPA, which will all be available for patrons to sample. There may also be a member of Dieu du Ciel on hand (Friday sessions) to answer questions about their award winning beers.

Not to be out done, Hopfenstark will have 2 draught lines as their Saison Station 16 and Blanche de L'Ermitage are making their first Ontario appearances. Members of the brewery are also expected to pay Volo a visit and are intending to stay for the duration of the weekend festival.

“Having both of these terrific Quebec breweries here at Volo for the first time, at our Cask Days, means a lot,” stated Morana as he told me about the struggles he went through to get the beer into Ontario. He further elaborated, “This will also be the opportunity for us to introduce the HMH team to the crowd as the official agents for DDC and Hopfenstark. Myself and my brother in-law Carl make up the HMH team and we are ecstatic to represent these breweries in Ontario”.

It should be noted that samples of the above mentioned beers will be priced slightly higher than the other samples, based on the cost to bring the beers here.

So, if you actually needed further reasoning as to why this event should not be missed, DDC and Hopfenstark products should push you in the right direction. Keep your eye on www.caskdays.com for further ticket information and session availability.